Chinese ferro-vanadium export prices stabilized in the pricing week ended January 3 on a lack of trading activity, with many overseas buyers still absent from the market on their year-end holidays. Meanwhile, despite thin numbers of inquiries from the overseas market, Chinese exporters held their offer prices relatively stable because they noticed that the domestic market was showing the potential for a round of price rises in the near future.

Fastmarkets’ price for ferro-vanadium, fob China, was assessed at $68.50-70.00 per kg on January 3, unchanged from the week before. Some domestic ferro-vanadium exporters were reported to have received inquiries from the Asian market and offered at around $70 per kg last week, a price level almost the same as the previous week.“We offered at $70 per kg and we heard that most [ferro- vanadium export] offers were around that level this week,” a Chinese trader said on Thursday. “The domestic market has shown signs of rebounding over these two weeks, and we believe that export prices will see an uptick soon.”

China’s domestic ferro-vanadium market was comparatively active last week, with many domestic steel mills showing an interest in placing orders, buoying the overall market sentiment, marketparticipants said. Further support to the domestic market sentiment came from the market rumor that an inspection team from China’s quality supervision department had arrived in Jieyang, in southern China’s Guangdong province. Sources said that they were there to monitor how the revised rebar manufacturing policy, which demands more vanadium content, has been enforced since its introduction on November 1, 2018.

The relevant authority could not be reached for verification and more details at the time of publication. “I heard the rumor,” a market participant said. “If it is true, it would be a positive sign for the vanadium market. And what we care about is whether similar inspections will be carried out across China’s major steel-making cities later. This would be more exciting news for us.” Sources expected the ferro-vanadium export market to be active in the coming week, when most overseas market participants have returned from their Christmas holidays.